In the Night Sky
by OpalescentStorm
Summary: AU. NejiTen. Having everything you could ever want does not mean you have everything you could ever need. Neji Hyuuga and Tenten, modern setting.


Tired, empty eyes stared back at her through the compact's mirror. Cursing under her breath, Tenten groped around in her carry-on for her small bag of makeup. Finally, her manicured fingers curled around the clutch, and she pulled it out of the recesses of her tote.

Concealer for the purple-blue circles that spread under her eyes like bruises. Foundation to hide the blotches that cropped up when she became too tired to care for her skin. White eyeshadow in the corners of her eyes to brighten them and make her look awake, like she'd slept more than ten hours the whole past week. False eyelashes because own had fallen out from repeated removal of the theatrical makeup she had to wear. Blush to conceal her pallid skin tone. Lip gloss so her lips looked less chapped.

Her hands twined through stringy, brown hair to pile it in a messy bun low at the base of her neck. When she dared to look in the mirror again, Tenten grinned. _There_ was the model. She snapped the compact shut and tossed it with perfect aim into her carry-on.

It was ridiculous, she decided, as she leaned back in her seat slightly and looked out the window at the night sky. She was going home, not anywhere important. And yet she knew that the paparazzi would just be waiting for her to have just one hair out of place.

Tenten wasn't about to give them that satisfaction.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something flash by her window. Eyes wide, she grasped the armrest and turned to look through the small airplane window. Once she faced the glimmer of light, though, she could see it was just another airplane.

_I could use a dream or a genie or a wish _

_To go back to a place much simpler than this _

_'Cause after all the partyin' _

_The smashin' and crashin' _

_And all the glitz and the glam and the fashion _

_And all the pandemonium and all the madness _

What a pity. She could've used a shooting star, Tenten thought, slightly dejected, as she faced forward in her seat once more. It didn't have to be a shooting star, though. It could've been anything, just as long as she could have a wish. Just one wish.

Her lips curved upwards in a tiny smile, and she leaned her head against the window. She just wanted to go back to a simpler, gentler time. Not riches or fame; she already had those. Not happiness, because she had that, too, if only part of the time. All she wanted was to go back a few years, to when she felt like a real human being all of the time. When she ate what she wanted and didn't throw up from the stress and never had the media bother her.

_There comes a time when you fade to the blackness _

_And when you're starin' at that phone in yo' lap  
And hopin', but them people never call you back But that's just how the story unfolds  
You get another hand  
Soon after you fold  
_

Because lately she'd felt just empty.

She had the job every girl wanted; the job she'd once dreamed for with all her heart an soul. And maybe she loved it, but it was times like now that she just wanted to curl up and cry and sleep until the end of time and maybe then she could ignore that gaping ache.

Suddenly her phone lit up and began to vibrate. As she snatched it off of her lap and glanced at it, Tenten groaned quietly. She'd been hoping for it to be her parents, or maybe even Lee, or at least Sakura or Ino. But it just her agent. Again.

"Hello?" she chirped, trying to inject something like enthusiasm into her voice.

"Amazing job at the runway this evening, Tenten. I just wanted to tell you there's a party that you must be attending. It'll be perfect for publicity," replied a slightly low, feminine voice.

Tenten didn't bother holding back another groan. "But Kurenai, I'm on my way home!" she complained. "I'm _tired_!"

"Sorry, Tenten. Really, I am." Either she was a good actress, or Kurenai actually was feeling apologetic, Tenten realized. "It's not far from your apartment; just about a thirty minute drive. I'll send someone to pick you up at... ten, okay?"

Glancing down at her phone's time display, Tenten made some calculations. She was almost at the airport already, and then the ride to her apartment only took five minutes. That'd give her around thirty minutes to get ready. "Yeah, Kurenai, it's fine," was her lethargic reply. "'Bye," she said, and before her agent could reply, Tenten ended the call.

_Sorry I'm late  
I'm on my way  
So don't close that gate  
If I don't make that  
Then I switch my flight  
And I'll be right back at it  
By the end of the night _

It wasn't long before the flight was over, and as Tenten left the airport, she couldn't help but look at the airplane. She'd be right back at it at the end of the night.

_**...stars?**_

He found himself hiding in the bathroom once again, standing in front of the mirror and wondering what had changed so much. His cold, white fingers traced over the mark on his forehead. When he was younger, he had always covered the mark. Hats, headbands, long hair. Anything that would conceal the imperfection across his forehead that marked him as a failure.

Lately it had become his symbol, the thing that the whole world knew him by. He left it uncovered, and whenever he was on stage, the makeup he had to wear had been designed to emphasize it.

_Somebody take me back to the days  
Before this was a job  
Before I got paid  
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank  
Yeah back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway  
And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it _

Once upon a time, he had worked in fast food. Subway, he thought with a small smile as he remembered the tip jar that he'd always stared at, hoping it could fill up. Neji had started rapping because it was a release, a way to vent his anger and his frustration and his hurt. The music had moved him and helped to shape him. It had carried his hopes gently and had eased the pains that he felt.

With it, he'd been free, something he'd only felt a blessed few other times in his entire life. He'd rapped because he wanted to, and because it was one of the things that helped him to pick the locks off of his cages.

_But now days we rappin' to stay relevant  
I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes out of airplanes  
Then maybe oh maybe I'll go back to the days  
Before the politics that we call the rap game  
And back when ain't nobody listened to my mix tapes  
And back before I tried to cover up my slang _

However, all of the feelings had been taken out of his work lately, it had seemed. Just one song after another; make what you can when you can to try to stay on top of things. Neji's recording agencies kept pushing him. More, more, more. Because while he used to rap because he loved it, it had become an uphill struggle for money and greed and fame.

Looking out of the small window, he saw an airplane head east across the black sky. He closed his eyes, because then maybe he could convince himself it had been a shooting stars and that maybe his wish could come true.

All he wanted was to return to the life he used to have. Back when like was hard but full and sometimes amazing.

But nothing changed. He wasn't suddenly thrown into the past. Instead, the bathroom remained, and the music outside of the door continued to blare. Instead of his wish, he got a painful reminder of the fact that he was here, and he had his job. A bitter smile curdled his expression, and he headed out into the party.

It was all games, just politics, he though angrily as he introduced himself to one self-important asshole after another. Back when not a person had listened to his rapping, not a single person here would have given a care either way about him. Now that he offered them a chance for the leavings of fame, scraps of glory, they gathered around him like so many carrion crows. His eyes narrowed even as he pretended to be interested in conversation after conversation of self-centered drivel.

_So can I get a wish to end the politics  
And get back to the music that started this shit  
So here I stand  
And then again I say  
I'm hopin' we can make some wishes outta airplanes  
_

He just wanted one wish. Just to go back enough in time to when life was real, not fake politics and lies and deception all for a little more money, a few more people to know his name. Back when Tenten looked at him with that look in her eyes, and Lee laughed too loudly all of the time. Because they were real, and he had traded them in, just as Tenten left him behind and Lee tried to cling to both of them even as they slipped away.

And if he could go back to them, then he could go back to a time when music had been an extension of himself, as much part of him as his arm or his eyes. It used to be natural, not forced and painful as it had become.

The airplane he had seen earlier flashed in his mind's eye even as he spoke to the representative for one recording label or another. Shooting stars didn't exist in his world, so maybe he'd just have to make do with airplanes. A fake, a shame, not the real thing. He moved on, saying his goodbyes to the representative and heading down a hallway so he could dabble in rap politics some more. Fake shooting stars for wishes that would never come true. It all fit.

_**...**_

They collided rather painfully in the dark hallway. As Tenten regained her balance, she took a glance at the person who'd run into her. "Wait... Neji?" she asked quietly, her voice barely a whisper. There was no way.

"Tenten?" he asked. At least he sounded as confused as she did. Before Neji could even think of another thing to say, she hurled himself at him in a rather explosive hug. He returned it with a good deal more self-control, wrapping his arms around her and feeling more bone on her than actual flesh.

"I missed you," they both said at the same time. Tenten laughed, and they pulled back and looked at each other. "You look just about as tired as I feel," Tenten said. Her finger gently traced under one of his eyes, and Neji just managed to keep from flinching. She was always more comfortable with touching others than he was.

Still, he smiled at her comment. "You look just as pretty as always," he told her. Tenten's eyes widened in surprise; Neji had never said anything of the sort. "I've seen some of your photos and runways. You're beautiful, Tenten. However, I still think you looked the prettiest that one day you beat me in a martial arts match," he said. The moment after he said it, though, he looked away. She was affecting him more than usual if he was speaking so freely.

Before he could even apologize, soft lips pressed against him for the briefest of moments. "Thanks, Neji," she replied softly, and blushing as she looked down at her shoes.

Silence stretched between them for a few moments. "Follow me," Neji said finally, grabbing one of her hands. Surprised into submission, she followed him onto the balcony.

"I missed you," she said again as they both looked out at the night sky. "I've been feeling empty, kinda. Don't get me wrong," she added hastily. "I love it. I just... miss the old days, you know?" Tenten asked, her voice suddenly very quiet.

"I know how you feel," Neji replied. Maybe she felt the same emptiness that he did. Maybe she woke up feeling like everything was unimportant because the most important thing was missing.

_Can we pretend that airplanes  
In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars?  
I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, wish right now _

Her laugh was self-conscious and adorable, he noticed. "I know it's silly, but I've been pretending airplanes were shooting stars. And every time I've wished to go back."

She watched him to see his reaction, and was rewarded when he faced her and smiled almost imperceptibly. "We're not as different as you think. I've done the same thing," he told her, almost chuckling at her surprised expression.

"But, somehow, it feels less empty now, you know?" she asked him, her eyes bright even in the poor lighting. "Now that you're here." As she said it, he realized that she was right. The ache had dulled and almost disappeared entirely. Suddenly, she grasped his hand in her own slender fingers, and the last remnants of the emptiness fled.

An airplane made its slow way across the dark blue canvas of the sky. "Make a wish, Neji," she whispered. He only squeezed her hand ever so slightly.

_Can we pretend that airplanes In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars?  
I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, wish right now _


End file.
